His story is a bit extreme, however, it’s a good reminder to me to keep the faith and get up again over and over. Although San Sebastiano lived and died in Rome, in Sicily on January 20, the early Christian martyr is celebrated with fervor in the towns of Acireale (Catania), Tortorici (Messina), and Barcellona…
Category: Art
The Ancient Art Of Basket Weaving In Sicily
Claudio Romano has a deep knowledge of medicinal herbs and wild plants, especially those from the Hyblaean Mountains of southeastern Sicily. Building on his passion for flora, Romano learned the art of basket weaving, a practice that has existed since humans sought containers to keep their foodstuffs and other products. Watching him work and learning…
Experience Mythic Mountains in Sicily May 2020
During May 2020’s Experience Sicily Myths and Mysteries of Sicily: As Above/So Below tour co-hosted by Tony Allicino, we’ll go deep into the center of Sicily, where you’ll have your breath taken away by one of Sicily’s hidden gems, the stupendous Teatro Andromeda. From the top of the mythic mountains, you will nourish your awareness…
A Journey In Sicily To Discover Your Vision
“The Cyclopean Walls of Mount Erice” is a painting housed in the Palazzo dei Normanni (Royal Palace) in Palermo by painter Michele Cortegiani (1857-1919), (Oil on canvas, c. 1890). Monte Cofano pictured in the background is a magnificent limestone monolith on the Tyrrhenian coast that you’ll see with this same view when on Mount Erice,…
Recalling A Time of Chivalry In Sicily
The UNESCO recognized opera dei pupi was a popular form of entertainment in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before film and television, it was a favorite form of diversion for men and boys (It’s actually pretty violent and bawdy!). Our hero Orlando and the knights and their enemies recall the age of chivalry, originating…
Hercules Went Clubbing In Sicily
Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna, a fresco in the lobby of the main entrance of Villa Palagonia (18th century), Bagheria, Sicily… Hercules killed the serpentine monster during his second of 12 Labors, an ancient Greek and Roman myth.
Live Nativity Scenes In Sicily
Today is Saint Stephen’s Day, a national holiday in Italy. Sicilians and Italians spend the day with family and friends visiting presepi di Natale, or nativity scenes, like this Presepe Vivente that I visited last year in Licodia Eubea in Catania province, where I’ll be hosting our Life in A Remote Sicilian Town tour in…
Sending You Harmony And Joy
May harmony and joy greet you! Buon Natale! Merry Christmas! Ti mando armonia e gioia!
In Sicily Legends Come To Life
Sicily is the stage for many myths and legends. Like this one pictured from Homer’s Odyssey, where the cyclopes Polyphemus is throwing lava boulders at Odysseus. During our October 2020 Stunning Sicily tour, these stories come to life–especially when you are standing on the slopes of Mount Etna looking at the coast from where Odysseus…
A Dagger? Eyes On A Plate? What Intrigue!
A dagger? Eyes on a plate? What intrigue! (Continued from an earlier post…) Inspired by Sant’Agata of Catania before her, Lucia refused to participate in the activities of the brothel to which she was condemned. This of course, angered the madame, who called the Roman authorities to further punish the maiden. Somewhere in this mayhem,…